Train Troubles
Summary When the 3 brothers decide to go to the seaside, getting there's the problem... Plot Fred and Bobby are watching television in the living room when Ted comes in, suggesting that they go somewhere for the day. Bobby wants to go to the moon and have a picnic, Ted wants to see the seaside and Fred will just go anywhere. They decide to draw straws to see where they should go, Bobby taking this too literally and actually drawing a straw on a piece of paper. The straws are drawn from Ted's grasp, and it turns out that Ted is the winner. At Smileton Railway Station, the brothers are waiting at the platform, Ted explaining that their train should be there any moment. Bobby gets distracted though, and goes to explore a Lost & Found centre. As he leaves, the train arrives at the platform, and Ted and Fred get on. Bobby, dressing up in the lost and found clothes, looks out and sees the train there. Scared he is going to miss the train, he scampers out and onto the platform, boarding the train as the doors close. He is relieved as he sits next to Ted, but then he looks up and sees that Ted isn't actually Ted, and instead an old man with the same coloured jumper as Ted. Bobby then realises he is on the wrong train, and so do Fred and Ted. Unfortunately, both trains leave in different directions, leaving Bobby in misery. At Smileton Hills' railway station, Ted is asking for a railway map and Fred is sitting on a bench. Another train arrives at the station, and Fred sees Bobby through the window of a carriage. He leaves and gets on the train, and Ted is left alone on the platform. As the train is going, Fred finds Bobby and Fred declares that the next stop is the city, where they can go back home. However, as they arrive at the station, they see Ted is also there, and both try to alert him. The train starts again, so Bobby tries to shout across to him through the window, but Fred notices that it is of no good. Bobby then decides to pull the emergency brake, and the train halts in the middle of the line. They both scramble out of the train, but they are followed by an irate conductor. Fred finds that the conductor is on their trail, so they clamber onto a maintenance platform and board a service engine, speeding away. However, the conductor does the same thing in pursuit of them. As the engine speeds along, Fred manages to switch the points so that the conductor's engine is set onto a different line. He laughs in victory, but then realises that there is a train heading straight for them. Fred and Bobby cry out in fear, and the engine is smashed to pieces as the train ploughs straight through it. Atop the carriages, Fred and Bobby sit, dazed and confused. Fred realises that they are still alive, and Bobby is still confused. They suddenly hear the conductor's voice, and turn around to see him there. As it turns out, the conductor only wanted them to give him their tickets to be punched. Fred, annoyed, asks if the conductor would leave them alone if they did. The conductor considers it, and Fred searches his pockets for the tickets, only to not find them there. Bobby says that he gave Fred the tickets, and Fred asks if there are any exceptions. The conductor gets more angry, and Fred and Bobby run away through the carriages. At the end, Bobby disconnects the carriage the conductor is on, and it falls away. It goes into a Carriage Wash, and the conductor comes out, brushed, soaked and soaped. As Fred and Bobby continue through the rest of the carriages, they find Ted in one of them, and they all rejoice at being together again. An announcement comes over the speaker, informing that the next stop is the seaside, conveniently. At the seaside, the brothers are enjoying themselves on the beach, watching Bobby fly a kite. In turn, they describe how they finally managed to get to the seaside after all, and how they never want to go on a train ever again. Bobby begins his positive sentence, but a gust of wind carries him and his kite away into the sky. Fred exhaustedly remarks that they now have to go on planes. Trivia * The passenger trains were actual photos that were cut out * Drawing straws is actually a popular method used for decision in a group * 'The Dreaded Basement' theme is used again for the conductors appearance * Ted is shown to severely dislike the moon, but like the seaside (primarily because of its fish and chips, according to the series bible) * Smileton Seaside is seen for the first time ** Additionally, Smileton Hills are seen too ** So is Smileton Railway Station